Again, zero votes on the good side, and ranking 4th worst with 21 votes on the bad side. With 73 votes counted, that means about 30% spoke negatively of the Sox. The emphasis again was the team not investing in the players, infrastructure, and taking care of the players.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7382921/2026/06/24/mlb-player-poll-desired-destinations-teams/?unlocked_article_code=1.slA.WiIU.UPj_7gZT_XBo&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta&fbclid=IwY2xjawSo1s1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUOFh6Y3RGdERFdVZWeWlTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiuTZiFi1E-ThJAvO_O2TEw2yXJ9OEZ5QcMSbdeFvcA4hTxRsVz-S108jVYZ_aem_EZqVE7H5LaqtBEj387kkEw

Yep, we all know JR sucks. Nothing new here.

8 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Again, zero votes on the good side, and ranking 4th worst with 21 votes on the bad side. With 73 votes counted, that means about 30% spoke negatively of the Sox. The emphasis again was the team not investing in the players, infrastructure, and taking care of the players.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7382921/2026/06/24/mlb-player-poll-desired-destinations-teams/?unlocked_article_code=1.slA.WiIU.UPj_7gZT_XBo&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta&fbclid=IwY2xjawSo1s1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUOFh6Y3RGdERFdVZWeWlTc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiuTZiFi1E-ThJAvO_O2TEw2yXJ9OEZ5QcMSbdeFvcA4hTxRsVz-S108jVYZ_aem_EZqVE7H5LaqtBEj387kkEw

What I wonder is how much this trend may or may not have changed? I'm not surprised but is it actually different (but this feedback is based upon long-term views and biases which have yet to shift or merge at this level) or is it really still the same. I won't pretend to know but I could see these being a lagging indicator relative to what we are seeing on the field which seems to be indicative of some true changes from a development perspective.

5 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

What I wonder is how much this trend may or may not have changed? I'm not surprised but is it actually different (but this feedback is based upon long-term views and biases which have yet to shift or merge at this level) or is it really still the same. I won't pretend to know but I could see these being a lagging indicator relative to what we are seeing on the field which seems to be indicative of some true changes from a development perspective.

We are really close to three years out now from "The Change". At worst, I would expect the leading indicator to be current Sox players having good things to say, even if the negative reputation hasn't gone away around the league. So far that doesn't seem to be happening.

The only enjoyment you get out of the Sox is in talking bad about them, even in a great season.

Just wow! Even when things are going so well (Cleveland rearranged their pitching staff to throw their best starters at the Sox and lost both games anyway), people are still working really hard to find some source, some aspect to complain about. Just wow.

Plus, whatever this poll says, I would bet 95%, at least, of the current White Sox players are very happy (not just content) to be on this team, in this organization right now. It’s so obvious.

3 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

What I wonder is how much this trend may or may not have changed? I'm not surprised but is it actually different (but this feedback is based upon long-term views and biases which have yet to shift or merge at this level) or is it really still the same. I won't pretend to know but I could see these being a lagging indicator relative to what we are seeing on the field which seems to be indicative of some true changes from a development perspective.

I think, for the most part, fans overrate the developmental piece of an organization and underrate the personal and family support piece. These are jobs. Teams who offer great perks with food, famil and personal accommodations and travel while also investing in winning will always come out on top. You can't make a "career" with the White Sox without sacrificing pay and other things.

Rays win and provide amazing development opportunities but they cheap out on accommodation and salary so they're always here.

I didn't expect this to offend people, but here we are I guess. It's sad to see Soxtalk turning into an echo chamber where people only want to hear their opinions reflected back at them. The best days of Soxtalk were the days where different opinions were debated heartily.

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I didn't expect this to offend people, but here we are I guess. It's sad to see Soxtalk turning into an echo chamber where people only want to hear their opinions reflected back at them. The best days of Soxtalk were the days where different opinions were debated heartily.

Sounds like you wanted this post to be your own echo chamber and its not working out that way.

3 minutes ago, Green Line said:

Sounds like you wanted this post to be your own echo chamber and its not working out that way.

I expected debate and feedback, fully. Or at least I hoped for it.

42 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

We are really close to three years out now from "The Change". At worst, I would expect the leading indicator to be current Sox players having good things to say, even if the negative reputation hasn't gone away around the league. So far that doesn't seem to be happening.

How do you infer that the current players didn't have nice things to say based on this article alone?

3 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

How do you infer that the current players didn't have nice things to say based on this article alone?

I know the kool aid is popular right now. I get it. Everyone wants to believe after wandering in the dark for so long. I am wanting to see that something is fundamentally different about the last three years, and going forward. It's a red flag to me that we still seem the same things being said about this franchise. Are the guys having fun playing the game? Obviously. But we are still seeing the same underlying issues from any outside reporting. At the very least, I would expect someone to say that this was a good place to play, but literally no one did, and why? Because the Sox are still cutting corners pretty much everywhere outside of public view, and even in full public view of the payroll. Maybe Chris Getz can win inspite of this where only Kenny Williams has been able to do so, but it lessens my optimism for the future.

keep your expectations low, kinda like you do for the Sox.

I can remember Lance Lynn and Kenyan Middelton going public about how bad the Sox clubhouse was. The 2026 White Sox are light years away from the Sox teams Lynn & Middleton were on as far as the clubhouse goes. Veteran players acquired this season have stated how awesome the environment is. I think Will Venable is a major reason for the clubhouse change; he sets the tone. As far as players wanting to play for the Sox, I think the path from the minors is wide open for opportunity to advance. Getz has to be given credit for recognizing the negative clubhouse environment and making changes. I don't have a clue about the video room, I hope Getz can be advised of this type of information and make improvements. I believe they installed a high-tech batting machine the players can use during the game. Someone might have more details on this.

I think most of the problems with the Sox was the years and years and years of Kenny Williams. And then add Hawk in Jerry's ear and it was like an organization stuck in the 70's.

10 minutes ago, MEANS said:

keep your expectations low, kinda like you do for the Sox.

Honestly? You are absolutely right. I should learn my lesson here.

In terms of ownership not investing in the team, no wonder the reputation is poor. Renisdorf earned that reputation.

Some of the other stuff, like the video room just being a laptop in a closet, feels like perception hasn’t caught up to reality yet.

11 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I know the kool aid is popular right now. I get it. Everyone wants to believe after wandering in the dark for so long. I am wanting to see that something is fundamentally different about the last three years, and going forward. It's a red flag to me that we still seem the same things being said about this franchise. Are the guys having fun playing the game? Obviously. But we are still seeing the same underlying issues from any outside reporting. At the very least, I would expect someone to say that this was a good place to play, but literally no one did, and why? Because the Sox are still cutting corners pretty much everywhere outside of public view, and even in full public view of the payroll. Maybe Chris Getz can win inspite of this where only Kenny Williams has been able to do so, but it lessens my optimism for the future.

I believe Grichuk did rave about coming to the Southside. I get the whole pump the brakes, but I just sat through 3 years of misery and I am optimistic. The press is always going to build you up and then tear you down, that what they do.

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

We are really close to three years out now from "The Change". At worst, I would expect the leading indicator to be current Sox players having good things to say, even if the negative reputation hasn't gone away around the league. So far that doesn't seem to be happening.

Do you know who said what - for all you know this is mainly former players who are sticking to the same themes of the past. When were the question9s) asked, etc. And proof is in the pudding - I don't think anyone is going to rave given where they were for the past few years...takes seeing production for the voice to change. Those are facts - barring some wholesale change in owner(s) which might drive a more rapid / clearer view of difference.

I have seen more positive player vibes this year than the past 5 years combined - so that seems to be coming off. Whether that is in-spite of everything else or not, I don't know, but quite a few players including vets have talked about how unique this club is and team is to the positive (again - that could be in spite)...but there is some early data implying that there could be some real progress (could also be nothing). But the video room comment - is that still true or is that a quote that is based upon how it was 3 years ago (a reporter close to team should be able to figure that out).

57 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I think, for the most part, fans overrate the developmental piece of an organization and underrate the personal and family support piece. These are jobs. Teams who offer great perks with food, famil and personal accommodations and travel while also investing in winning will always come out on top. You can't make a "career" with the White Sox without sacrificing pay and other things.

Rays win and provide amazing development opportunities but they cheap out on accommodation and salary so they're always here.

100% agree with that.

I think we give players too much credit for knowing much about what is going on outside their own 26 man roster or hell, even their own locker. These guys are locked in. Give it a few years. The Sox keep winning and developing players like Sam, Vargas and Colson -- with Ishbia incoming, perception will change.

6 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

I know the kool aid is popular right now. I get it. Everyone wants to believe after wandering in the dark for so long. I am wanting to see that something is fundamentally different about the last three years, and going forward. It's a red flag to me that we still seem the same things being said about this franchise. Are the guys having fun playing the game? Obviously. But we are still seeing the same underlying issues from any outside reporting. At the very least, I would expect someone to say that this was a good place to play, but literally no one did, and why? Because the Sox are still cutting corners pretty much everywhere outside of public view, and even in full public view of the payroll. Maybe Chris Getz can win inspite of this where only Kenny Williams has been able to do so, but it lessens my optimism for the future.

You're already starting out mocking your imaginary mob who won't agree with you, so I'm not sure what you expect the response to be.

The article seems a bit skewed, in that teams fall into "viewed positively" and "viewed negatively". The article's really too short to do an in depth analysis of what's going on with teams. They don't post any positive remarks about the Pirates, Rockies, or White Sox. They also don't say if they had long conversations that delivered more insight into why players do or don't like about clubs. The quote where the player asks who's cheap and who's not says to me that players weren't especially eager to talk about this.

Overall, the framing doesn't seem very nuanced. "Viewed negatively" wouldn't seem to be a factor if the Sox are the only team offering a major league deal, or whatnot. A single player probably isn't worried about how the team treats families.

Big picture, it's an article, not market research. You might call it Kool Aid (sic), but I'm not really concerned whether a guy getting paid $10M has a free concierge to set up transportation and child care for his family. Or more accurately, I'm only concerned as far as the team doing enough to attract and keep talent. I would also expect the people who seem to care enough about this to complain about it to maybe seek out follow up and post that, also. Does this ever get covered in those annoying, in-game interviews about Sox Charities, or whatnot?

16 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

I can remember Lance Lynn and Kenyan Middelton going public about how bad the Sox clubhouse was. The 2026 White Sox are light years away from the Sox teams Lynn & Middleton were on as far as the clubhouse goes. Veteran players acquired this season have stated how awesome the environment is. I think Will Venable is a major reason for the clubhouse change; he sets the tone. As far as players wanting to play for the Sox, I think the path from the minors is wide open for opportunity to advance. Getz has to be given credit for recognizing the negative clubhouse environment and making changes. I don't have a clue about the video room, I hope Getz can be advised of this type of information and make improvements. I believe they installed a high-tech batting machine the players can use during the game. Someone might have more details on this.

I think most of the problems with the Sox was the years and years and years of Kenny Williams. And then add Hawk in Jerry's ear and it was like an organization stuck in the 70's.

JR hasn't spent or invested in the minors and the other stuff - they have always cut corners there. The impression has been that Getz has clearly not spent on the roster, but he has made more investments in the infrastructure. Whether that puts them on par or not, probably not - you can't just throw money at something that was ignored while rest of the baseball world advanced...but you can still make progress and that progress takes time. I'm just not going to be lazy and say ha we still suck...nor am I saying the opposite. And I do think they are still a far way away from being some world class organization - but is momentum at least moving them forward (after years of heading in the wrong direction).

Besides the usual southside playing the victim is this article based on guys who have left in the past 2-3 years or guys who have played here at any point in their careers.

This was started in February and they asked 100 players from 23 teams. That is an extremely small sample size. And the quote about the video room sounds like something that particular player heard about years ago and doesn't align with how things are today.

20 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

I can remember Lance Lynn and Kenyan Middelton going public about how bad the Sox clubhouse was. The 2026 White Sox are light years away from the Sox teams Lynn & Middleton were on as far as the clubhouse goes. Veteran players acquired this season have stated how awesome the environment is. I think Will Venable is a major reason for the clubhouse change; he sets the tone. As far as players wanting to play for the Sox, I think the path from the minors is wide open for opportunity to advance. Getz has to be given credit for recognizing the negative clubhouse environment and making changes. I don't have a clue about the video room, I hope Getz can be advised of this type of information and make improvements. I believe they installed a high-tech batting machine the players can use during the game. Someone might have more details on this.

I think most of the problems with the Sox was the years and years and years of Kenny Williams. And then add Hawk in Jerry's ear and it was like an organization stuck in the 70's.

In talking to 100 players, they probably didn't talk to more than 4 guys on the White Sox. The 96 guys not on the White Sox most probably don't have any info on what the team has been doing for the last 3 years under Getz. Neither do we, because the article doesn't really go beyond its surface framing. I can already feel the usual crew getting ready to criticize me for "having my head in the sand", or parroting corporate talking points, but we know this team had problems. With everything we've heard about the Trajekt machines and layers of data and delivery, I can't imagine they're still at the point of having one laptop in a closet. In every camera shot of a player in the dugout after a home run, they're looking at a tablet. Is that the one tablet the team owns? Do they have to take it back to the library every two weeks and renew it?